It is taking longer, and costing more to bring fewer drugs to the market
- the process can take upwards of 14 years and cost $2.5bn.
Pharmaceutical companies are seeking productivity gains in the discovery
and development of new therapeutics, and are now turning towards digital
technologies.

Cyclica
is launching its novel cloud-based, proteome screening platform, Ligand
Express™. The unique platform, which harnesses biophysics, biological
data, and artificial intelligence (AI), is actively being used by
pharmaceutical scientists to more efficiently navigate the drug
discovery pipeline.

The web-accessible platform (www.ligandexpress.com)
grants users access to Cyclica’s AI-assisted, structure-based, molecular
simulation technology. Users can submit small molecules of interest to
rapidly generate unique polypharmacology profiles. These profiles
consist of on- and off-target interactions that may be expected, as well
as those that are unanticipated to aid decision making. Off-target
interactions can be viewed using the platform’s interactive, analytical
tools that enable exploration and facilitate deep insights that cannot
be gained through traditional target-based approaches. By using
cloud-computing, Cyclica accomplishes proteome screening without
requiring hefty infrastructure on-site, with users needing only a laptop
with a modern internet browser installed. A short demo of Ligand
Express™ can be found here.

Traditional design of small molecule therapies has focused on specific,
disease-associated protein targets; however, once a drug enters the body
it interacts with dozens, if not hundreds, of proteins targets. In a
matter of only a few days, Ligand Express™ provides a panoramic view of
a small-molecule, which aids in identifying novel targets, deconvoluting
mechanism of action from phenotypic screening, elucidating adverse
events, prioritizing leads, and determining new uses for existing drugs
(repositioning/repurposing). Ligand Express™ augments discovery by
providing scientists demonstrable and actionable insights to better
understand a drug’s effect earlier in discovery, thereby reducing months
or years of R&D time and associated costs.

Cyclica’s vision is to be an integral utility platform in the
pharmaceutical R&D value chain, and thereby catalyze a productivity
revolution. To date, Ligand Express™ has been used by leading
pharmaceutical companies, research institutes, and non-profit
organizations in Canada, US, China and Brazil to risk adjust discovery
efforts, and thereby save time and capital in moving better products
forward.

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